The dining philosophers problem is a classic exercise in synchronization (Figure 13.20). Five philosophers sit around a
Question:
The dining philosophers problem is a classic exercise in synchronization (Figure 13.20). Five philosophers sit around a circular table. In the center is a large communal plate of spaghetti. Each philosopher repeatedly thinks for a while and then eats for a while, at intervals of his or her own choosing. On the table between each pair of adjacent philosophers is a single fork. To eat, a philosopher requires both adjacent forks: the one on the left and the one on the right. Because they share a fork, adjacent philosophers cannot eat simultaneously.
Write a solution to the dining philosophers problem in which each philosopher is represented by a process and the forks are represented by shared data. Synchronize access to the forks using semaphores, monitors, or conditional critical regions. Try to maximize concurrency.
Figure 13.20:
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